Sudbury to experience growth: BMO

Sudbury is poised for growth, with 4,000 jobs expected in the city over the next four years, according to a new report by BMO Capital Markets Economics.

The influx is being attributed to the boom in the mining sector; nearly 10 per cent of Sudbury’s workforce is directly employed in the mining sector, with many other employed in related spinoff activities, notes the report.

"Employment in Sudbury has recouped all of the declines suffered during the recession," said Robert Kavcic, an economist with BMO Capital Markets, in a news release. "The city's small labour pool makes statistics like the jobless rate volatile, but the underlying trend is clearly improving. Even at 7.2 per cent, Sudbury's jobless rate remains below that for all of Ontario, a feat recently achieved in 2007, and a stark turnaround from about 15 years of a consistently-high local unemployment rate.”

“Surging commodity prices and their positive impact on mining have been a major driver of the relative improvement,” Kavcic added. “Looking out over the medium term, Sudbury's unemployment rate should drift down toward 6 per cent by 2016, about half a percentage point below the Ontario average and back near the pre-recession lows."

Other indicators are equally upbeat. While population growth has slowed to slightly above zero in recent months, the city has seen positive population growth in each of the last 10 years.

There were 600 housing starts over the last 12 months, close to the highest level in 17 years, and the resale market is also strong. Sales were up 14.1 per cent year over year in the 12 months through April, pushing average prices to a record level of more than $240,000, according to the report. Homes still remain relatively affordable compared to prices in other cities.

"BMO's economic report on Greater Sudbury serves as confirmation to what many in our community are seeing—a city that's on the move," said Debbi Nicholson, president and CEO of the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce, in the release.

"Our resource-based industries and their supply and services sector are leading this boom; the ripple effect of this economic activity is already being felt and will continue to have a positive impact on our economy. We anticipate a rosy outlook for several years to come."